In this article you will learn in a few easy steps how to apply Earned Value Analysis in Microsoft Project

2013.

Create a new project. Go to File -> New -> Blank Project.

Create your project plan. Add all tasks with their associated durations and dependencies and set the %
complete of the project summary task to 0 (to view the project summary task, tick the Project Summary
Task in the Format tab). For this article, we will consider the plan shown in the figure below.

Determine the type of project tasks. There are three different types of tasks defined in Microsoft Project
and each of these types affects the way work, duration, resource assignments, and costs are calculated.
o Fixed Units: Resource assignment units remain fixed while duration and work can vary
o Fixed Duration: Task duration remains fixed while work and units can vary
o Fixed Work: Task work remains fixed while duration and units can vary
The decision of which task type to choose depends on the nature and urgency of the work involved in your
project. Since there are strict deadlines for the project in this article, our tasks will be treated with fixed
duration.

Add resources with their costing information. Go to View -> Resource Sheet and add all your resources
with their max units, standard cost rates, overtime rates, cost per use, and cost accrual method. For this
article, we will consider the list of resources shown in the figure below.

Assign resources to tasks. Go to View tab and click on Gantt Chart then assign resources to each of the
subtasks of the project.

Adjust resource usage. Go to View -> Resource Usage and specify the number of daily working hours
assigned for each resource on his tasks. To prevent over-allocation, make sure the assigned number of
working hours is smaller than that specified in the project/resource calendar.

Set project baseline. Your plan is now ready to be baselined. To baseline your project, go to Project -> Set
Baseline -> Set Baseline. Keep the default settings as shown in the figure below and click OK.

Verify Earned Value options. To make sure Microsoft Project is using the correct baseline for Earned
Value calculations, go to File -> Options -> Advanced and make sure your baseline is selected in the
Baseline for Earned Value calculation drop-down box. For the Default task Earned Value method
drop-down box, it is preferable to select Physical % complete instead of % Complete to get more accurate
Earned Value results.
o Physical % Complete field provides a measure of the real work performed and is independent of the
actual duration of the task.
o % Complete field provide a measure of the work performed based on the actual and remaining
durations of the task.

You also need to explicitly tell Microsoft Project to base Earned Value calculations on Physical % Complete at the
task level. To do that:

Switch to Gantt Chart view and from the View tab select Tables -> Entry.
Select all the tasks of the project
Right click and select Information
From the Advanced tab, select Physical % Complete from the Earned Value Method drop-down list.
Click OK

Display Earned Value table. Now you are ready to view your Earned Value calculations. First set the
Status Date in the Project tab to one day earlier than the start date of the project (Oct 23 for the project in
this article) then Select View -> Tables -> More Tables -> Earned Value. Notice Microsoft Project
calculates Budget At Completion (BAC) of all project tasks based on the costs associated with the
resources assigned to the tasks. Since the Status Date is before the start date of the project, the Planned
Values (PV) of all tasks is 0.

Now set the Status Date to the start date of the project (Oct 24 for the project in this article). Since task ID 2 is
starting on this date, Microsoft Project calculates the Planned Value (PV) that should be earned at the end of the
day for this task. Notice the negative value of the Schedule Variance of the task since no actual work has been
performed yet.

Now lets record some actual work. Go to View -> Tables -> Entry to display the Gantt Chart. Lets say by the end
of Oct 24, 50% of the physical work on Task ID 2 has been completed. To set this value in Microsoft Project,
follow the steps below:

Display the Physical % complete column by right-clicking in the column header area of the Gantt Chart
area and selecting Physical % Complete.
Set the value of the % Complete field for Task ID 2 to 33%. This is the actual work based on the actual
duration.
Set the value of the Physical % Complete field of Task ID 2 to 50%. The is the real physical work
performed.

If you go back now and view the Earned Value table (View -> Tables -> More Tables -> Earned Value), the
Earned Value for Task ID 2 is now $840 which is 50% of the total BAC ($1,680). Since Task ID 2 is planned to
start on Oct 24 and its duration is 3 days, the Planned Value, as of Oct 24 Status Date, is 33.3% of the total BAC,
$560. The Actual cost (AC) of Task ID 2 is accrued from the standard cost rate of the resources who performed
the actual work on Oct 24. Notice in this scenario, more work has been earned than planned.

I hope this article clearly explained the basics of setting up Earned Value Analysis in Microsoft Project 2013.
Should you have any inquiries, please feel free to comment